Kingdom Hearts The PrideLands
by Animus.Lupae
Summary: Kingdom Hearts in Lion Form. The Pridelands have a new cub, meaning a new prince to protect. Can they keep him safe from Kadaj and his Pride?


**Disclaimer:** I know you've all probably heard this many times before, but I own none of these characters. If I add in any characters of my own, I will tell you, but until then, unfortunately, I own none of these characters.

**P/M: **Well, I had a dream one night of doing a Pride Lands based Organization fanfic. Obviously, there is no sexy lovin's of any couple (WAAAAH!) but there are some cute parts and I'm hoping to get my plot goin'. I have three chapters pretty much done so far, I tend to write them on paper during car rides, bus rides, or just in my spare time, and it takes a little bit of time to transfer them to the computer. I would just write on the computer, but I don't think so straight when I'm on here… Ha-ha. This isn't my first fan fic, but it's the first organization XIII Fan fic that I'm putting on the Internet, so review please and stay tuned. ^^

Vexen shook out his pale yellow mane and yawned, his tongue stretching out of his contrasting maw. Stepping out of the rocky den that the Pride shared as one, he glanced around. It seemed all the lions of the Pride lands were gathered on Pride rock, gazing at the King and Queen sitting humbly at the very edge, studying the animals gathered below. Vexen's striking green eyes surveyed the pride, watching as they stirred frequently and muttered amongst each other, sometimes even purring out a note or two. He turned his gaze back to the royals and couldn't help but notice how different they seemed from the rest of the pride: Calm, proud. Those were the only two emotions he could read from the expressions on their faces. King Ventus' dark yellow fur seemed ruffled, as though he'd barely slept, and his blond mane seemed a little disgruntled as well. Queen Aqua was the opposite, groomed to perfection, self-confidence radiating off of her hard, sea blue colored fur; like an ocean with all the waves going in one direction. Vexen wasn't surprised to see Terra, their right-hand man, sitting off a few paces, looking down at the crowd as well. The dark green lion had been one of Ventus' childhood friends, who seemed to have made it into Ventus' adult life as well. Vexen had never been overly jealous of Terra though, his job was much more important. He was the mage, the only one in the Pride who could speak to the spirits and ancestors residing in the heavens. It was fun, kept him busy, and made him feel needed all at the same time.

As the softly colored mage began walking towards his royals, a shiver was sent up his spine. He could feel the hush of the Pride at his presence, and the eyes that examined him as though he was an outsider. He didn't mind it too much though, this ceremony was important, which meant he was important if he was the one doing it.

As he stepped up to the edge of the rock and looked down, he nearly gasped in disbelief. Animals of every savannah species seemed to have gathered for this special occasion, though it was also a far ways down and he wasn't accustomed to it.

Vexen looked back over his shoulder. Behind the rest of the pride was the stone den, a large cave eroded into the back of Pride rock; Pride rock was made out of two separate boulders. One, what Pride rock mainly consisted of was a large flat rock that jutted out from under the cave. The second was the part that held the flat rock up, balancing it properly, as though Pride rock was merely a limb on a tree and the second rock was the trunk. The cave wall towered over the Pride, giving them some relief from the blazing sun. Vexen was not surprised the creator had created such a rock for the Pride's purpose. All of the Pride's former leaders had been fair and just, Ventus was a perfect example of that.

Vexen stomped a paw and raised his head, making sure the animals below could see his movements.

"Bring out the cub." Vexen demanded in a loud voice. At his words the crowd began bellowing and neighing, barking and squealing; as many noises as you could possibly imagine where droning through the Pride's ears, sending waves of excitement through them all. It even seemed to intensify as a crimson-maned lion stepped forward, battle-scarred but still quite handsome, holding a tiny bright yellow cub in his jaw. He came forward at a stiff walk, his eyes flickering from Vexen to Aqua and finally to Ventus. He lay the cub down in front of the mage, then turned and walked back to the rest of the Pride, sitting near a dark black lioness.

Vexen picked up the cub in his jaws and turned, showing the animals the young prince who had opened his eyes just the day before. The celebrations had not died down, and only seemed to increase at this new show; Vexen watched as the animals began to stomp wildly, snorting and tossing their heads from side to side. Then he turned to the Ventus and Aqua again, gazing into their eye in turn.

"Aqua, Ventus." He began as he dropped the silent and curious cub at their feet. Then he looked down at the cub, who was gazing back up at him with big blue eyes.

"May the creator watch over you young prince. May you follow in your father's footsteps and learn the freedom of the lion. You, young one, who has been named,

Roxas!"

Vexen leaned down and licked the cub's forehead, leaving a sheen of saliva on Roxas' yellow fur. The cub giggled and rolled over, searching for his father's leg to hide behind. Before he could escape though, Vexen picked him up by the scruff and held him above the edge again, so all the savannah animals could see, creating an uproarious cacophony of different sounds.

Among them were the roars of lions.

The celebrations lasted until Sundown. By then, the pride had slipped into their den, hoping for a peaceful nights sleep. Little did they know, trouble for their pride was just around the corner, in the form of a dark pink shape, scaling the distance back to the badlands easier than even a cheetah could.

In fact, the stars hadn't even come out yet.

Marluxia ran as fast as his soft black paws could carry him, barely touching the ground, or so it would have looked to a passer-by. The pink tip of his tail bobbed up and down, his black legs propelled him ever forward, his head lowered so he could reach be more aerodynamic. He'd seen everything. He even remembered the cub's name, which was always a bonus. It meant he'd not only done something useful, but he'd gone beyond and would be rewarded grandly.

But it always went that way for Marluxia, he was forever thinking ahead.

By the time the landscape had been swathed in darkness and illuminated by the moon's soft glow, he could see the entrance to the cave just up ahead. It was at the base of a small "mountain." The mountain was only about as tall as pride rock, but the inside had become so eroded over time, there were sleeping spots for everyone in the pride. It was useful as well, because on some levels on the inside, windows had been formed, creating something close to a lookout space.

As his first step inside the cave resounded against the walls, fifteen pairs of eyes snapped open and gazed in his direction. He was used to the darkness in the cave, but the multi-colored collage ahead perplexed him slightly. He continued walking forward, ignoring the lions that watched him from the ledges, until he came to a small hill with a boulder in the middle, which he jumped onto and sat. Above him was the top of the cave, and it had been pried open slightly so moonlight or sunlight would illuminate the meeting place at any given time.

"Marluxia." The black lion did not turn his head at the sound of his queen's overly affectionate tone; she used that whenever she wanted something, he was used to it now.

The black lion continued to stare straight ahead in the direction of the cave entrance.

"Yes?" He replied without much interest, his eyes unblinking. He could reel the rest of the pride slinking towards him in the darkness, and their colorful bodies soon became visible in the beam of moonlight that came from above.

"Well…" She continued, stepping into the light as well. Her body was beautifully designed, but her most predominant features were her eyes and her mane. Her eyes were mischievous and all knowing, and her smile was wicked deadly, leaving the lightning-like mane to show off her talent.

"Not many lions, leave the pride for an entire day and half the evening… Without reason."

Marluxia's expression didn't change, though he was beginning to become annoyed with her honeyed voice.

"Do they?" She finished, standing at the base of the rock now, her front paws placed close together, her expression innocent and curious.

"No, they don't." He replied stonily, tilting his head downwards so he could study her.

"But… it would seem that I have don't just that."

He played this game with her often; reveal as little information as he could while she tried to weasel it out of him. The only reason she never lost her patience with him was because they both knew she needed him. He was the smartest lion in the pride, and she couldn't risk losing him to the Pride lands.

The queen's ears slowly began flattening against her head. Marluxia almost chuckled, he could tell she was fighting the urge to jump up and claw his face off, due to frusteration she was trying to hide.

"It, does." She told him, her voice barely wavering. "But, that must mean you had a reason then, no?"

/She always ends in another question…/ Marluxia thought to himself, blinking.

"It does." He repeated, the hint of a smug smile creeping over the corner of his guarded mouth. The sandy colored lioness began to pace; both of them could hear murmuring from the pride, as well as the click of deadly sharp claws on the stone floor.

They could also both see the enormous silver lion emerge from the ranks and step up beside the queen.

"Kadaj." Marluxia greeted, nodding at the silver-maned cat.

"Marluxia." Kadaj greeted in turn, his scarred face scrutinizing Marluxia's flawless one.

"Care to give the pretty lioness what she wants?" Marluxia could hear the demand in Kadaj's tone; he wasn't a lion to mess around with.

He also wasn't one who liked head games.

Kadaj /hated/ them.

"The Pride lands have a new prince." Marluxia reported, his expression still unchanging.

"His name, is Roxas."

At that, the pride erupted in curious voices, snickers, roars and hisses. A cocky voice rose over the turmoil, and everyone burst out in laughter.

"Awe, a naming ritual, and we weren't invited?"

The queen scraped her metallic claws against the stone, emitting a soft screech before she answered almost lazily, "No, /Axel./"

Her reply was stiff, she was trying to depict the blazing red and black cat from the crowd.

"We wouldn't have gone for the ceremony anyways…"

More snickers at her clever reply.

"Well soo-ry /Queen/ Larxene." He retorted in a mocking tone, sitting off to the side, just out of the beam surrounding the meeting place.

"Don't get your tail in a knot…"

Marluxia watched the she-cat's eyes narrow and he laughed silently, guessing the fire-loving cat's fate.

"Silence, Axel!" Kadaj threatened, still looking up at Marluxia.

"Roxas is his name?" He turned without an answer to the rest of the pride, gazing at them in turn.

"Well, well, well… It seems we have a new objective, mission, whatever you'd like to call it. If Ventus has no predecessor, the Pride lands will have no new king after I kill him."

Hoots of agreement rose in the crowd but he silenced them with a glare.

"We /could/ rush over there tonight and kill them while they sleep, but no, I'm to righteous to stoop down to that level."

Marluxia listened as laughter broke out. Even Kadaj smirked slightly. Everyone knew Kadaj didn't play fair. He had always been cunning, sly, vicious, hard-hearted. The list could go on.

"We'll wait until this new prince is older. Then we'll infiltrate and turn him to our side, thus, bringing the Pride land reign to an end. We will come out on top! We were meant to rule! This, is our home!"

On his last word, not only did Kadaj roar our his anger and jealousy and frusteration, but others joined in as well, creating a haunting chorus they hoped would reach Pride Rock's sensitive ears.

**P/M: **Whew, that took a while to copy into my computer off of paper… I know I'm not the best author out there, but please take some time to write me a quick review. Anything is helpful, unless of course, you write something totally useless like "you suck." I will ignore those kinds of things.

Other than that, I can't wait to get chapter two written out. This one was ten pages long on paper, but I think it was a lot less on my word document. Oh well.

Chapter Two coming write away. XD

~Xelax


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